Longtime east Erie district judge hangs up his robe

After 26 years on the bench, Erie 5th Ward District Judge Joseph Lefaiver is retiring Nov. 7. At his east side Erie office on that day, Lefaiver reflected on his career, and talks about what's next. CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

Erie 5th Ward District Judge Joseph Lefaiver spent Thursday working through a list of civil and landlord-tenant hearings in his East 26th Street office.

During brief pauses in his schedule, Lefaiver, 66, tidied up his small courtroom and reflected on a 26-year career that ended as a full-time gig when he retired at the end of business Thursday afternoon.

Lefaiver was first elected to the job in 1987 after working as an accountant for 19 years. He followed in the footsteps of his late father, L. Elliott Lefaiver, who served the court for 22 years.

Lefaiver will continue to serve his office as a senior district judge for some time beginning next week, when he and fellow senior district judges Joseph Weindorf and Frank Abate cover court duties and other office matters in a rotation. The rotation is expected to stay in place until at least 2015, which is when an election for the office can next occur, Erie County Court Administrator Thomas C. Aaron said Thursday.

"I have no regrets. No regrets at all," Lefaiver said. "I'm happy with what I did. I've been good to people; I've tried to straighten them around. I got angry at some of them. I've enjoyed the 26 years. It's been a lot of fun."

Q What sticks out the most as you reflect on your career?

The only regret I have is that I haven't been able to really convince certain people to straighten out their lives and do the right thing. It's the most frustrating thing in the world.

The worst thing I had to do was homicide cases. I had a few of them. The worst night I ever had, I had two of them. Those are the tough ones, especially when it involved kids.

My father told me, "You'll remember your first hearing, and you'll remember your last." I was on call the first day I walked in, and the first person I had was just a simple ordinance violation. The person was giving me a hard time, just so obstinate. I told him what the penalty was and asked how he was going to plead. He said, "I'm not going to plead, and you can't do nothing to me." I said OK. I got hold of my sister (who worked for him at the time)and asked her if she knew where the commitments (papers) were. All of a sudden he pleaded not guilty.

Q That was kind of a switch to go from being an accountant to a district judge.

Everyone says that to me, but you know what? I dealt with people all the time. I had to get their information, I had to judge what they wanted to put on their return could go on their return. That was a lot of fun. At one time I had 600 clients. I used to do 600 returns during tax season. I lost 30, 40 pounds every tax season. I used to work 14-, 15-hour days, and I didn't eat. And I used to smoke like a fiend, three packs a day. I used to drink three, four pots of coffee.

Q What do you remember about your father's time as district judge?

He was on 22 years, and I've been on 26, so we have almost a half century of service. And there's no more Lefaivers, by the way. That's it.

My father always told me when you go into that office, you have to understand who you are dealing with. Not everyone deserves a $300 fine. Some do and should get it, but most people, they made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes.

My father was a golfer, and he used to play golf on Friday afternoon. He always had to be there at 4 p.m., so he would leave the office a little early. One guy comes in this one Friday and pleaded guilty to public drunkenness. My father said the fine was $15 plus court costs, which was about $40. The guy said he had to go to the bank and would be right back. My dad said don't be late. At 3:45 p.m. the guy comes walking in and says he wants to pay it off now, and he's upset. He plops down $55 in unrolled pennies. My father says, "OK, don't ever come back in front of me again." Guess what happened to him next week? He comes in front of my father on the same charge. My father says the fine is $300, he had 30 days to pay it and not to bring any pennies in.

QHow has the job changed for you?

The biggest change is the fact that costs have gone up so dramatically. When I came in, costs were like $42. Now for a summary offense, they're $149.50. My minimum fine, believe it or not, has not changed in 26 years.

People make mistakes. They're going to go out and get drunk, or start yelling and screaming at somebody, and if it's not a serious charge, why should we hammer them? And most people are decent to you. I have screamers and yellers. The problem is, I can scream and yell a lot louder than they can, and I usually win.

Q You say you regret not being able to help some people, but what about those you have helped?

I had a guy who used to come in on a regular basis. He came back to see me and said, "I want to thank you. You told me as a kid to stop doing what I was doing. I got a job now. I got a wife, children."

Then again, you have people who just never learn. Those are the sad things when you see these guys repeat, repeat, repeat, and all of a sudden you see the (obituary) of some guy who died, and he died in jail.

Q How many people have you married as a district judge?

Probably 3,000. They were a lot of fun. I remember my biker weddings, a guy I married twice. I had a guy one time, I married him in the afternoon, and he called me that night and said, "Do you do divorces?" He said, "We made a mistake." I said, "Monday morning. Courthouse. Go down and see them."

My first marriage was on my first day. They're still around. They came up on the bus because they were 17, 18. I have the ceremony in front of me, and I'm going like this (hands shaking). I didn't want to screw it up, but I'm so nervous.

Those are the good times.

TIM HAHN can be reached at 870-1731 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNhahn.